The University of Texas at Dallas volleyball team won its seventh conference championship in program history after upsetting the No. 13-ranked University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (UMHB) 3-1 in the American Southwest Conference (ASC) Tournament title match Nov. 6 at the Mayborn Campus Center in Belton, Texas.
With the victory, the Comets (17-9) earned a berth in the NCAA Division III National Tournament for the fifth time in the past seven seasons and the eighth time in school history. They will play Christopher Newport University (22-9) on Nov. 11 at a regional tournament in Atlanta.
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Livestream: Comets’ opening match 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 11
UT Dallas’ Catherine Croft was named the ASC Tournament’s MVP after she finished with 20 kills, seven digs, two blocks and an ace in the win over UMHB (24-2). Comet teammates Abby Jones and Allison Owen joined Croft on the all-tournament team.
In the first set, the Comets used a 9-1 run to take a 12-8 lead, which they never relinquished en route to a 25-20 win.
After splitting the next two sets, UT Dallas had its best offensive performance of the match, hitting .213 as a squad in the title-clinching 25-22 win in the fourth set.
Owen and Gabi Sommerfield each had eight kills, while Madison Ball and Erin Rogers collected seven kills apiece. Jones and Rachel Baxter each corralled 21 digs. Emma Sevening and Sydney Fitt had 27 and 21 assists, respectively.
Other members of the team are Izzy Sundquist, Maria Serb, Hannah Paine, Mikayla Cho, Sydney Sherlock, Jaryn Towery, Karle Lynd, Lydia Knollmeyer and Brynne Blackmar.
The Comets, who made their eighth straight and 12th all-time appearance in the ASC title match, now hold the conference records for tournament titles (seven) and tournament victories (31).